"Yes, but he says there will be such a lot of talk if we only have our poor friends. People are always saying that he isn't really in sympathy with the rich at all. Of course it isn't true, but if we had a rich wedding, and invited all the rich people and gave them presents, it would show that he does think more of them than just of pleasing our poor relations." "Should we have to give them presents--expensive ones?" "Yes. They are awfully good. Lots of the women in mother's district have promised to take jewels. They are quite excited about my marriage, and would like to see me settled as poorly provided for as possible. Perhaps it wouldn't be fair to disappoint them. But I do hate it so." "Well, so do I," I said. "And I should hate to give away a lot of presents to people who had never done me any harm." "Dear old boy!" she said affectionately. "Mother rather hates the idea of it too. But she feels, perhaps, that we _ought_ to think of our rich friends at a time like this." "Miriam," I said boldly, "we can't face it. Let us go away together and get married quietly when we get to England." The idea seemed to strike her as something rather dreadful and rather pleasing at the same time. She blushed, but her eyes were bright. "Oh, we couldn't," she said. "Yes, we could. Let us go away in a week's time, before all the fuss begins, and escape it." "It really would be rather fun!" She was half joking, half in earnest, but, at any rate, she had admitted the idea into her mind, and gradually as I pressed her, making light of all difficulties, she began to waver towards acquiescence, in earnest. What her mother would think was the chief obstacle. "I am sure she would be just as relieved as we should at escaping all the bother," I said. "You could leave her a letter." "I could come back and see her after we were married." "Yes, of course. We would come back to Upsidonia whenever we wanted some more--I mean whenever you wanted to. Oh, Miriam, say yes!" She did not say yes at once, but she did a little later. She had a great sense of adventure, and became even excited at the prospect, when she had once consented to it. We decided to go away together very early in the morning in a week's time. FOOTNOTES: [33] See page 65. CHAPTER XXVI As long as I remained in Miriam's garden, I was safe from interruption. If the police had been waiting to arrest me for a crime, they could not have got at me, or even summoned me from outside, but must have waited until I chose to appear. But when we had made our plans together, I thought I had better go and see if they had called again, and, if they had, give them my finger-prints and get it over.